Diary
by potato-theif
Summary: A boy finds a curious diary in his locker that reads strangely the same as the Elric's story...
1. Journal

**Chapter 1: Diary**

* * *

He slammed his alarm clock to pieces. That made the third one this week. He should really stop doing that, or else his mother was going to stop buying him new ones. He got up, washed his face and quickly brushed his hair. He got dressed, wearing the usual combat boots and a chain on his pants.

Downstairs, he quickly shoved a doughnut in his mouth and washed it down with a glass of milk. He grabbed his messenger bag, which looked like it had seen better days, and walked out the front door. He always timed his mornings perfectly, not waking up one second earlier than possible. The bus stopped in front of his house just as he closed the door behind him.

At school, he headed for his locker, where he dumped the contents of the bag into a heap, not even bothering to organize the miscellaneous papers and books. As he set his backpack carefully on the hook provided for him, he noticed something sitting neat and orderly on top of the shelf above the hook. It looked like… a book?

He pulled it down from the shelf, his curiosity getting the better of him again. It looked old, but the pages weren't worn down at all. It gave off an aura of importance and sadness, somehow. The book was large and imposing, bound with black leather. On the cover was a strange emblem, cool looking, but strange, sewed on in pieces of red leather.

It was a curious image. At first glance he thought it looked like the symbol for hospitals and stuff, but then saw that it was a snake around a cross, not a pole. And there seemed to be wing shapes on either side, and there was most definitely a crown above it. The bell for first class rung, so he shoved it under his arm with the rest of his stuff and headed off to first period. Hopefully he would have a chance to look at it more closely later.

The next time that the book entered his thoughts was at lunch when he finally had some spare time to look at it.

"Watcha got there?"

A boy with brown eyes and hair poked his head into the open page of the book. It was useless saying that it was nothing. He had always had the uncanny ability to read his emotions since they were little kids. They almost felt like brothers sometimes, oddly enough.

"I really don't know… I think it's some kind of notebook that someone accidentally put in my locker or something…"

He opened the book to the first page.

_June 30, year 9_

_I'm so excited I can't wait! In a few days, we'll get to see mother again! I spent all night going over the array and materials needed to transmute mom back to life. I think I got it all right, but I'm really tired so I'm not sure. Al's been acting kind of nervous lately… it's making me think about reconsidering this. What if something goes wrong? What am I saying? Of course nothing will go wrong… if we just do everything like the book tells us, it'll all go okay._

_July 3, year 10_

_I am sorry if my handwriting is bad. I have to use my left hand to write now and I'm not used to it. What have I done? I made such a terrible mistake… I wonder if Al blames me for what happened to us? I am sure that losing a few limbs is nothing compared to losing your entire body…_

_I never want to think about what happened there ever again, but I know that I have to… _

_August 28, year 11_

_I fully recovered! The automail works perfectly now, thanks to Granny and Winry's help. I'm not sure what I would have done without them… I wonder if there is any way that I can express my gratitude to them? It doesn't seem like anything that I do could ever repay them. This really annoying person from the military came a while back. Lt. Col. Roy Mustang… I really don't like his attitude that much, but he said that he can help me become a state alchemist, and that is what I have chosen to do. My mind is set. I will restore our bodies. _

_October 11, year 11_

_Looking back on what I wrote and did, I can't believe how stupid I was. Hell, I can't believe how stupid I still am. Oh well. Now I have a once in a lifetime chance. I'm going to Central to become a State Alchemist, yup, a 'dog of the military'. Granny Pinako and Winry begged me not to go, but I have to if I ever want to return us to our original forms. I really don't have any other choice. _

_I've decided that today is the first day of my new life. Now that the house is gone, we have nowhere to come back to, so the only option is to move forward…_

He flipped through the pages rapidly. Was this… someone's journal? The entries were short and sporadic, skipping randomly from time to time. He felt awfully rude for reading it, but this person's story…

Wait? Alchemist? Weren't alchemist those creepy old dudes that tried to turn straw into gold and stuff? And what did the word 'transmute' mean? There were just so many puzzling things about this book, that his head started to hurt.

The bell signifying the end of the lunch shift rang, and he quickly closed the journal. He would have to read it again when he had more time.

* * *

Just a random idea that popped into my head. I dont really know what happens EoS completely, but I'll try and do the best I can. Just like with the dates. They might be a little off. A nice little twist will end this story after a coupla chapters or so. This one was weirdly short because its like, midnight on a Monday and I have school tomorrow. :dies:

'Taters


	2. Sketch

**Diary**

**Chapter 2: Sketch**

* * *

It had been another long and boring day at school, and he was one hundred percent sure that geometry was the devil's work. Returning home was always the best part of the day. Today was even better though, as he could go up to his room and read in solitude.

He had pulled it out a little in class, and flipped through it a little. The pages were torn and beaten up in odd places, suggesting that the book itself was a not only a journal, but a diary as well. The thing that perplexed him the most was the sheer fact that it read too much like just another fantasy novel of a strange alternate universe with magic and little fairy people and the such.

He had also noticed that there were various illustrations dotting the pages. Most of them were odd little circle patterns, but some had tried to be sketches of people. Whoever wrote this book, well, besides the circle patterns, which were infinitely complex but yet beautiful, whoever wrote this had no real artistic talent. Circles and lines could be drawn easily enough with a compass and a ruler.

Some of the pages stuck together, and he pulled them apart whenever he came across them, sometimes damaging the page. He cursed under his breath. What had made the pages stick together? It was anyone's guess, until he saw what was written down.

He skimmed quickly over the actual words when he noticed dark, circular stains that had placed themselves irregularly on the page.

_January 28, year 12_

_I don't know what to write, what to say. There is no word that I can think of. More like a mixture of several different feelings. _

_First off, I passed the State Alchemist Examination with flying colors… or at least they say. This at least puts a little hope into my heart that one day… one day…_

_All of this emotion welling up in such a short time…_

_I feel like I might explode. _

_Nina…. Nina…._

_I can't bring myself to write down what happened, but I know that that is something that I will remember for the rest of my life…_

This is where the splotches seemed to be the most heavily concentrated. The notion him: Tears. Tears of what, for whom? He might never know. The author sure had left a lot of holes in the plot. He continued to read:

_Goddammit, they wouldn't even give me a moment's peace! "How long are you going to keep sulking there, FullMetal?" "You have a lot of paperwork to catch up on, FullMetal." "Don't sit outside in the rain, you might catch a cold, FullMetal" Sometimes that bastard of a Colonel is just so condescending I feel like punching him in the gut a few times. _

"_An adult's reasoning" he had said… _

_I had never paused to think about it, but right now I really would like to scream at him and say "WHAT IF THERE IS NO REASON?" and see if he can manage to keep that smug look on his face._

An adult. Pah. Both he and I and everyone that meets us know that we are such children, so immature, blissfully ignorant.

He turned the page to see something that he hadn't seen before.

_March 4, year 15_

_So… we are stuck with Armstrong for the train ride back to Rizenbul…_

_Damn, those sparkles are getting to my head right now._

_I hope the train is fast. He really is annoying and embarrassing at some times…_

_Why are we going back home? I forgot to say why. Oops. Well, we had a run-in with Scar… and, well, my entire right arm is destroyed._

_I hope Winry doesn't kill me for this…_

_Oh! Yeah! I almost forgot. I had Armstrong sketch some pictures in here while we were waiting at the train station to stop him rambling on about his family history and special talents and other random crap. They're actually really good. Who would have guessed a guy like him could draw? Not me._

_He had gone rambling on again about how it was 'the artistry that had been passed down to generation after generation of Armstrongs'. I really should keep my mouth shut around him, but it's really hard._

_I get the feeling that this is going to be a long ride…_

He looked at the page opposite the entry. It was a sketch of a group of people, most of which were wearing some kind of uniform that looked vaguely military. Next to it was a photograph which the picture had been drawn from.

There were a few that stood out, though. First off, there was a giant suit of armor in the background. He wondered why there would be such a thing in a drawing like this. Standing next to the armor was a drastically shorter person in comparison. They had long hair, which looked to be braided although it was had to tell. They also wore a particularly odd-looking cloak-trenchcoat thingy.

There was one woman in the group out of all of them, and she was seen with a gun in her hand and a stern, but not malicious stare. A shorter man in glasses held a black dog, standing next to a taller man with a lazy grin on his face and a cigarette in his mouth. Sitting down in a chair in the corner was a black-haired person wearing a smugly satisfied expression, his head propped up with one white, gloved hand. And then there was a person, standing all by himself in his own little spotlight, twinkling, flexing his muscles with his shirt off.

He assumed that this was a pose for the photograph.

He spent several minutes surveying the picture when he came across captions he didn't even notice before. Below the armor and the trenchcoat-wearing person was an arrow, which split into two directions. On the left, which he assumed correlated to the left person in the picture, was the written 'Alphonse Elric, age 14'. On the arrow pointing the opposite way, there was written 'Edward Elric 'FullMetal' Alchemist, age 15'.

This was _not_ what he had imagined the writer of the journal to look like. In fact, he hadn't even fully expected it to be a guy. And how was he a suit of armor brothers…? He assumed that from the surname. That was just plain weird.

Above the woman's head was written 'First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye'. Below the man with the dog was 'Sergeant Major Cain Fury with Black Hayate'. To the side of the person besides this 'Cain' was 'Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc'. The man in the chair was labeled 'Colonel Roy Mustang'.

_Colonel…_

He looked at the man again, and studied the expression on his face. He understood what …Edward?… must have felt, or feel. He couldn't be sure of the tense. Maybe this was a continuing series of a new fantasy/sci-fi novel?

God, that look just made him want to clock this… Roy… on the head. He knew some people like that. He also knew that there were many layers, for a lack of a better word, to that kind of people. He knew one personally.

His train of thought was cut of violently and abruptly by the entrance of his mother into the room. He quickly closed the journal and shoved it into a drawer in his desk guiltily, like he had something to hide.

"I've been calling your name for fifteen minutes now! I could have sworn the neighbors down the street could have heard me yelling "Ed! Dinner's ready!" from inside!"

He grudgingly left the picture and the journal behind and slogged down the stairs to eat. It's not like he was hungry anyway… he had more important things to do, like geometry, and that book had just started to get even more and more baffling to him, which made him want to get back and read it some more.

* * *

Hmm... did the plot thicken? Turn to goo? Get a little murkier? Thin out and get completely see-through? Well, to me it's really see-through, but then again, I'm the author(ess)!

**KitsuneOfShadows-** Canadian Pride? or Blame Canada? You're right. I don't really care! XPPP I'm American. How boring. At least Canadians can be like 'oooh im from canada'.Wait... Why are we talking about Canada again?

**Flamebrake **- Oh, but I can. I can do anything I want! I am the all-powerful authoress:laughs insanely: I hold the power of life and death in my hands! (as seen in too many of my other fics...)

later.

'Taters

hey, that rhymed!


	3. Black

**Diary**

**Chapter 3: Black**

* * *

At lunch, he consumed his meal in less than two minutes. Ed hadn't gotten a chance to look at it all morning, and reading that book seemed to be almost an…obsession of his.

Someone else with black eyes and hair slid down the bench and sat across from him.

"What's this?" the black-eyed boy snatched the journal from his hands and scanned through it quickly.

"So, Ed's got a _diary_?" He laughed.

"Dear diary, today I just had the worst day ever!" he mocked in a high-pitched girly voice.

"Agh… Just shuttup, Zach! It's none of your own damn business! And plus, it's not even mine!" Ed bit his tongue. He shouldn't have said that.

"Oh, so now you go around stealing _other people's _diaries and reading them? That's not a whole lot better, Ed."

All he could do was sit there and glare at that annoying loser. He jumped up suddenly, reaching over the table to claim his book. Zach was faster than he was and pulled away, holding it up in the air.

_Gah!_

His reach was just a little too short.

Owen came up to the table, having just gotten his food from the lunch line, with tray in hand. He set it down calmly.

"Umn, Ed. What _are_ you doing?"

Owen was frustratingly naïve sometimes, and he would be dead serious too.

He looked at Ed trying to grab the book out of Zach's hand desperately and Zach having the time of his life keeping it just out of his reach.

"A little _help here_, Owen!"

Owen gave him a blank look.

"Just get the damn book, alright?"

Before the brown-eyed boy had a chance, Zach stood up and began to walk away, casually tossing the leather volume onto the table.

"As if I'd want your sappy little _diary_ anyway." He said as a last defense before stalking off to wherever he went to eat.

Ed grinned. He hadn't technically _won_, per se, Zach had decided to just leave him alone, but he'd take what he could get. Sure, that idiot loved to get under his skin, but that was partially because it was so easy to do.

Zach was too busy perfecting his image to actually be real friends with him, and he accepted that. Some people just had to be superficial like that, although he couldn't imagine what that would be like.

Owen sat down next to him.

"So you have a _diary_?"

Ed glared at him.

"I _said_ it's not mine! I swear!"

"Well, than whose is it?"

He turned away.

"That's the thing… I have no idea. It just showed up in my locker one day. But the story… is so… complex. Almost like it's real."

"What makes you think that it's not really someone's journal?" Owen scanned the pages. It certainly _looked_ like someone's journal. There were even tear stains and spots of blood on the pages.

"Huh? What's 'alchemy'? It seems more like magic than a science to me…" He looked at the page opposite the writing and saw another daedal, intricate circle pattern.

"I see…. But still, what makes you think that it's all made up? I don't think the average author would bleed and cry for his novel. And why bother writing it in a diary, then?"

He had a good point, but its not like Ed was going to agree with him. First of all, that would mean that he had given up on his theory, and second of all, there was no such thing as 'alchemy'. Whoever wrote this must have been on drugs or something.

After reading a little more, Owen posed another question.

"Ed, are you _sure_ you didn't write this? It seems that you and the author share the same names…"

But on the other hand, Owen was highly observant and introspective, which made up for his child-like innocence most of the time.

He looked at the picture of the person labeled 'Edward Elric, "FullMetal" Alchemist'. He read the entry that Owen showed him a few pages before hand.

"_Goddammit, they wouldn't even give me a moment's peace! "How long are you going to keep sulking there, FullMetal?" "You have a lot of paperwork to catch up on, FullMetal." "Don't sit outside in the rain, you might catch a cold, FullMetal…"_

It had just occurred to him that the person talking was this 'Full Metal', and 'Full Metal' also had the name of 'Edward Elric', or, as Owen had assumed, 'Ed'.

He really was slow. He'd been so caught up in the story that he hadn't even noticed that.

"No, goddammit, how many times do I have to tell you? I don't have a diary!" He yelled defiantly back at Owen, almost like it _was_ his and he just didn't want to admit it.

"You can tell me. I won't laugh."

He could feel his face flushing.

"I don't have a goddamn diary, alright!"

He had said that a little louder than he would have liked. Ed just turned around and quietly continued fingering through the pages. He came to a page that he had missed un-sticking from the other pages. The first few lines had the top part of the paper ripped off onto the other side of the page. He cursed softly under his breath.

_…Evaluation day, huh? All I can say is Mustang had this coming… After constantly mocking me, and then refusing to give me answers about Marcoh! Bastard…._

The handwriting turned a little shakier. He could almost hear the author screaming indignantly.

_I CAN'T BELIEVE I LOST TO THAT CONDESCENDING COLONEL WITH A GOD-COMPLEX! Well, technically, it was a draw… but that still means that I didn't win, dammit!_

He skipped the rest of the page…it was mostly a rant written in a large size, pressed down into the paper. At the bottom was another circle. What the hell was with this person and circles?

It was two circles, one inside the other, with two overlapping triangles in the middle, and another triangle at the top of those. On the top of the circle was a small flame emblem, and below the triangles was a lizard-y looking thing.

_Hah. No matter what, though, Mustang still needs this pathetic array to use his alchemy! His flame alchemy almost looks like magic at first sight…but I figured out how it works. His gloves are made of some kind of weird material so that a snap is enough friction to produce a spark. Combine the oxygen from the air, and boom! You have flame alchemy. It really is ironic how stupidly simple that is for no one to have thought of that before…_

The last bell rang and he head towards his locker to grab his backpack and go. Luckily, he lived close enough so that he didn't have to take the bus home. Walking out the front doors of the school, he pulled out the notebook.

He started to flip the pages with his thumb and the book fell open somewhere near the middle. The page was almost illegible, and wavy from dried water. No, not dried water…. Tears…. And blood. And something else that he had a feeling that he really didn't want to know what it was.

He picked a legible spot, not covered by any… stuff.

_…"genuine truth behind all truths"? If that is what it is, I don't really want to know. Our dreams crushed in just one day… if it means having to sacrifice humans intentionally…I don't think I could ever do that. Not even for Al. I have to find out for myself._

There was a little map paperclipped to the side of the page. A building labeled simply '5th' was circled in red.

A little later down the page he could make out a part of another entry.

_…So now I know, and I wish I didn't. He completely blames me for everything, I knew it! And I agree with him too… it was all my stupid, childish, ignorant fault! I… I pressured him into it… I could tell he didn't want to… but he knew that I wanted to so badly…_

_It really is all my fault. It's my fault that we are the way we are, Dogs of the Military, a half-metal teenager, and a suit of armor…._

Wow, this Edward guy really has some issues. Owen says that we might be similar, but first of all, I don't have a brother. And second of all… I'm really not that messed up. Really. I swear. Wait, if he's "Full Metal" then how is he half-metal? Isn't he full-metal? That's just odd.

He was thinking about this too hard for his own good. It was just some stupid tear-jerker story that some messed up person came up with. He closed it, shoved and shoved it back in his bag along with his other stuff.

It was Tuesday, and he was headed to the bookstore to study. Setting his stuff down on a table in the adjacent café, something caught his eye. He picked it up, and bought it immediately. Paying only seven dollars for it seemed almost like a crime. The lady behind the checkout counter politely asked if he would like a bag. He declined, grabbing the book from her hand.

He stroked the cool, smooth, glossy black leather and headed back to his table. He had a lot of work to do.

* * *

You know what's really annoying? I know exactly how I want to end it but have no ideas for the stuff in between. :sigh:

**FlameBrake **and **Lluvi-the-Wolfgirl**: Reincarnation.. not really, but sort of. I can't really tell you anything without giving away the ending... sorry!

**Gundamwinggirl**: Yes... we all miss Roy. Especially now that I killed him. :hides: No, unfortunately, this is mostly an Ed-centric fic. It's his journal and all. Well, unless you count... whoops. Can't give that away either. But it's kinda easy to tell if you read closely.

**Rikku-san**: Thanks so much! That means a lot to me that you finally decided to review. I know that there are a lot of people out there that read stuff and dont review it (including me..oops.) Longer chapters? Eheh. I write at like midnight, so it really depends on how tired I am and if I have school the next day.

**KitsuneOfShadows**: It was just a bit of fun...XPPP Yes, you get a thanks for all the reviews that you've given me, and a biiiiig hug! As far as talent goes... don't overestimate me. XP

**:Thanks and hugs all reviewers:**

**Oh yeah! I'm gonna be almost living at Kunicon this weekend, so probably no updates from Fri/Sat to Tues/Wed. Sorry! **I am cosplaying too! w00t. Not as FMA people though. Although me and a friend were considering Roy and Ed... but we already had to get our other costumes done. One is from Gravitation and the other involves a group of like 11 people. think sailor scouts

'Taters


	4. Belief

**Diary**

**Chapter 4: Belief**

Ok, this is the last chapter, y'all... unless further notice... it's long, but not that long. (for me)

* * *

It had been his original idea to spend some time going over his geometry work. After all, the semester final was on Friday, and the last grade he had gotten on a test had been a C. He was going to fail miserably, he just knew it. 

He got to work, copying down all the legible parts of the journal. He stopped to consider this, and flipped the book over so that it opened the other way, and began writing in it backwards.

_A few weeks ago, I found this journal, and I'm not sure if it's real or not. Basically, it's about these kids, Ed (who purely coincidentally has the same first name as me) and Al, who when they were nine…_

So many strange things had been happening to him lately, and he needed a place to dump all of his emotional shit. Unless that is that he wanted Owen to bug him about why he was depressed every other second, or Zach to follow him around making mocking mopey faces at him whenever he got the chance.

Although he would never hear the end of it if anyone found out that he had started to keep a diary of his own. It was to stay at home, in the bottom left corner of his desk at all times.

He was going to finish reading it through tonight, and then try to get at least halfway through copying it down again in his book.

He wondered why he felt a need to re-copy it down. Was it that he thought that it was a good plot that he could publish and make money off of or something? Or was it the fact that he believed that whoever wrote it would come back for it eventually?

He didn't know, but for some reason he just had to have this with him at all times. It seemed like a part of him, like the memories described were real; his. He could see the expressions on everyone's faces that he had come to know and love.

He hated to admit it, but he even had a soft(ish) spot for the bastards likeHoenheim, Mustang, and Envy.

It just seemed too… _real _to not have emotion for. Dear lord, was he turning into some kind of fanboy?

Maybe if he just put it away for now he could get his _real _work done.

* * *

He walked into the building, absorbed in the journal, as usual. 

He had stayed up past midnight last night to finish it, it was hypnotizing, in a way. Once he picked it up to read it, he had a really hard time bringing himself to put it down and go do something more productive.

Coming down the hallway, he saw a short little kid kicking a locker furiously, trying to make it open. Was this person even a high school student? He barely looked twelve! He put his book at his side, and approached the person.

"Uh… do you need help with that?"

The short kid looked at him with a look that he was sure was not possible for a human face to make.

"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I NEED HELP?"

"Uh…" This guy was really intimidating. That wasn't a great way to make friends if he was a new kid.

"…What's your combin- ah!" He looked up when he saw what locker the kid was standing in front of, trying to open. _His_.

"Why the hell are you trying to get into my locker!"

"What the hell are you talking about, punk? This is _my_ locker!"

"So then why can't you open it and I can?" He pulled the lock slowly and it clicked and unlocked itself.

"STUPID! That doesn't prove anything! Any half-wit could have just used a little bit of alchem-!" He stopped, put a gloved hand to his mouth and ran.

Wha-Wha? Did he just say… _Alchemy?_

The book flew from his side, his finger flipping the pages furiously. He held up the photo that he pulled out of the book next to the slowly shrinking image of the kid running down the hallway.

_No way…._

* * *

**_Caffeine good…._**

He needed _something_, and aside from anything illegal, caffeine was his best bet. It was odd; usually people get jumpy from caffeine, but his twice-daily dosage of iced-tea seemed to calm him down, at least for a little bit.

He was so engrossed with his lunchtime caffeine ritual that he almost didn't notice Owen sit down across from him.

"Hey, Ed! Look! There's a new kid!"

What could possibly be so pressing as to interrupt the all-important consumption of caffeine?

"I ran into him in the hallway earlier today, literally. He kinda punched me and stalked off though." Owen laughed half-heartedly and rubbed his jaw.

"But! I had a class with him, so I invited him to eat lunch with us! That's okay, right?"

To be honest, Ed couldn't really care one way or the other.

"Umn, sure. Whatever, Owen." He paused, still not looking up from his book that he had to finish for English.

"Hey, you. What did you say your name was again?"

There was an uneasy silence.

Ed looked up and almost spewed out his iced tea all over the table. It was that..._delinquent_ person from before. The one that looked just like...

_…Just gotta act…normal…_

The kid sitting next to Owen was wearing all black, somewhat morbid, if you had asked what Ed thought of it. What was really weird was his hair though. It was so long that it almost made him look like a girl. He wondered why anyone would actually _want_ their hair that long. Not that he really cared that much.

* * *

It was the end of the day, at last. He had felt that the uneasy aura surrounding him since this morning was going to last all day, but just the mere thought of going home lifted his spirits. 

There in the mass of students shoving their way out of the torturous building, his earlier acquaintance stood out like a sore thumb. Even though he was short, he was a tad peculiar looking.

"Ed! Edward!" He yelled pointlessly into the crowd. What he needed was something that would get that brat's attention.

"Hey, you! FULLMETAL!"

That did the trick. The boy looked up in complete shock.

_What? How would someone from here know that alias of mine?_

While the Elric boy stood there in shock, Ed came up to him.

"So it really is you, huh? Edward Elric, the "FullMetal Alchemist". Isn't it interesting how fate decides to work itself out? I guess the gate really does work in mysterious ways." He decided to add, just to creep the other person out a little.

"Wha..?"

He pulled out the journal.

"I suppose you'd like to have this back, wouldn't you?"

Just when the alchemist thought he couldn't be even more surprised, this… child pulled out his very own journal that he had kept since he was eight.

"WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET THAT?"

The notebook was being held by that brat that stole his name, high enough to be just out of his reach. He started to jump at it, but every time, the kid would just hold it up a little higher. It was almost comical to watch.

"Gosh, I'll give it back to you if you really want it. But," There was a brief glimmer of light in his eye.

"But not without a price. Alchemy is based on the principle of "Touka Koukan", or "Equivalent Exchange", no? You certainly rambled about it enough in here. So, therefore, it wouldn't balance if I were to just hand this over to you, now would it?"

Edward sighed. He _was_ right. But that still didn't put him in the place to toy around with him.

"So what do you want from me?"

"Just an answer to one simple question."

He brought the book back down to waist level.

"…And that would be…?"

"Tell me, Edward. Is this all…"

He paused.

"All what?"

"Is all this…. true?"

Edward leered at his namesake. He just loved giving vague, cryptic answers.

"Maybe. Believe in what you want to. Sure as hell I'm not the one to be telling you what to believe and what not believe. Hell, I'm not sure what _I_ even believe in anymore..."

He paused andlaughed lightly.

"Yeah, it's all true, kid. Down to the last gory little detail. I can just hear you say 'But there's no such thing as Alchemy!'. Well, in this world, no there isn't. But on the other side of the gate…"

He paused for a few seconds.

"I guess you read all about that, too."

He nodded slowly. "Mhmm."

Edward leaned over to collect his possession.

"Well, I'd better get going…"

When Edward had grabbed the book from his hand, he could have sworn that he saw the tiniest glint of light off of a metallic surface.

Before Edward had a chance to walk away, he heard the boy asking him another question.

"So, that _still_ doesn't explain how you got into my locker in the first place."

"I thought that I had been assigned locker #121, and it just hit me that it might have been 112 instead. As for the locks... a mechanic friend of mine taught me how to pick them a long time ago. Honestly, those locks wouldn't keep anyone out of those lockers if they had half an idea of what they were doing."

He paused and turned his back to Ed, walking away.

"That's enough questions for today..."

* * *

The next day, Ed walked into the hallway where his locker was. He found that locker 112 was logically very close to his. That was to be expected, numerical order and all. 

What shocked him the most was when a girl came up to it and opened it. It was neat, with a mirror on the door, and a magnetic clock, and a tin, probably containing some kind of makeup.

He knew that he would never see that Elric person again, if he ever had, and maybe, he decided, there were just some things left unanswered.

* * *

**Owari**

Certain people are supposed to represent certain people. Obviously Ed is Ed, but I tried not to make it _too_ cliched personality-wise.Honestly, I think that it would be pretty easy, seeing as I suck at that kind of stuff and all. Gosh, I've been wanting to end this for a while, because the ending was the part that I had thought of first, and it was really kind of tedious doing the first few chapters.

Now that SB05 is coming up (thursday!) and i no longer have the flu, I shall be fic-ing a lot more lately.

'Taters


End file.
